Other Stuff

I have finally finished a pillow case for Allie's extra bed. I added red lacey stuff to edge and the embroidery. I am also working on an apron. Here is a sneak peek ...

30 Day Challenge Officially Starts

My clay challenge has begun! Each day I will work for about 30 minutes on a quick clay 'sketch' ...some might be planned and some will be whatever happens.

The photo I have here is the beginning of a miniature version of a garden sculpture. This is the base with some inner supports to help hold the head. The sculpture is a stylized figure of a woman. Stay tuned to see how this progresses.

I'm sewing a shirt...

Yesterday I became obsessed with handmade funky clothes and decided that I could sew clothing. I hate shopping for clothes and we only have two stores in town. So I went to my local store, bought a simple pattern and some fabric. Whoa! Did I get myself into something crazy. First off, the sizes on patterns vs. ready-made are dramatically different. Based on 'Simplicity' size I am off the chart. I hadn't realized I was so fat. Second, I insisted I needed this really cool orangey-rust stripe KNIT. Okay, I knew the knit might be interesting to work with but ...geez...it is so hard. Anyway, here is the project, I hope to finish it tomorrow.

ATC's

These are some artist trading cards from several years ago that I never traded.

Robot Doll

This is my latest creation about 2 months too late for Christmas. The robot theme was stolen from my sister. Oops, my foot is in the picture and it is sideways. Sorry. I only have about 45 minutes of free time for stuff like this. If you are wondering about the clay sketch challenge...I really am going to start that soon. Hmmm.

30 Day Challenge

I am taking the 30 day challenge! My goal is make 30 clay sketches in 30 days. I love planning projects but right now too many ideas are stuck in 2-D format. Plus, my "style' is all over the place...I need to focus. My thought is that if I get the ideas into a 3-d format it might be easier for me to see a connection (theme, style, something..) Maybe at the end of 30 days I will have some great ideas to push forward. Plus, I will be in the habit of working daily in the studio.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

More Snow!

I just have to show off my Allie doll. (She pees and poopies too! better than Betsy Wetsy)

New Doll

I just finished a new doll inspired by an old doll. I haven't named her yet. My Dad named all of my stuffed animals so I might ask him to name her. She is a gift for Allie. The dolls inspiration was a doll my grandmother made that was large (30") and had two faces...one asleep and one awake. I like the new version, she is a hip quirky chic!

Oh, by the way, it is snowing in TEXAS in December! Crazy...the forecast is sunny and 72 in a matter of days but I will take the cold snap and snow for now.

More sketchbook stuff

In case my sister takes a look at my blog, I stole the idea of posting sketchbook drawings from her...Thanks sis.

Skeleton Doll

Check out my latest "softie" creation. I call him Jack. I might make Jill tomorrow.

Sketchbook Memories

I have been looking through old sketchbooks for ideas for my next project.

A Charmed Life

Tara and I have been creating these beautiful little bead and found object bracelets. I have never made any type of jewelry before so I had to stick to basic stuff when it came to attachment techniques. For our first try I think they are really cool.

House Work

After several months of renovations, my family has finally moved to our new home. However, we did not complete all of our projects prior to move in. Most weekends we are working on the house, leaving little time for studio work. Plus we have been cleaning up from a hurricane that left the yard a mess. We have just about removed all the trees we lost. My shady yard isn't so shady anymore. I may get that garden after all.

I have finally started organizing the studio and have realized that I have an extraordinary collection of stuff!!! I feel the urge to purge but I just can't....so I need to develop a great storage system for odds and ends. I would really like to see other people's solutions to art material storage. I have a few books (there are not many available on the market...I have searched!) about art studio stuff and I love looking at the pictures. But these are picture perfect... the studios are art in of themselves. Which I can so be inspired by but I need to make art not spend forever setting up the studio. I need real person ideas. The space is just about in working order and I should be off to the clay store in the next few weeks. I'm so excited!!!!

My studio

The naming of the studio was easy. I love bird's nests and how a bird can find stuff and make use of it. You can find so many different materials in the nests. Birds are smart that way. I like to make art out of what I have and what I find. I have so many interests that I seem to dabble in just about everything. So, like a bird, here at Bird's Nest Studio you can find a lot of different materials...from clay to cloth.

I live a creative life and I am happy. Yes, I want to learn more, and yes, I would love to be an expert at something but in the meantime,I get to make, talk, and play with art stuff everyday...and make a living out of it. So I don't have a portfolio or a collection of art ready ...but I do have tons of cool art stuff and lots of ideas.